REAL MAN TRUCKWORKS & SURVIVAL
Commuication, Information Technology and Automation => Radio/Comms => Topic started by: Flyin6 on October 22, 2014, 08:00:37 PM
-
I was coming up a bit short in the commo department, especially compared to guys like RedNeck here of this forum.
I found this Voyager on Amazon for $64 and thought it was a pretty good deal for what it offers
It is powered by either of: A NiCad battery, 3 AA batteries, a solar panel, or a hand crank.
It receives AM/FM, SW/LW, and NOAA emergency weather channels. I thought for that many features and the paltry price, I'd give it a try.
Today, I cave it a few turns, opened the solar cell, then listened to K-Love hammer away my favorite Christian Rock while I worked on fixing damage the red dog created and on SquareD
-
The hand crank:
-
and modest solar panel:
-
And see, it works!
-
Sounds good, ;D maybe a bit more volume would help
-
looks to be all digital, do they make one in an analog version?
-
Not with all those features
Wouldn't matter, everything like this would have circuits
So store it in a metal trash can!
-
Looks like it would fit in a .30cal metal ammo box?
-
it would probably fit into a smaller one like a 9mm or even a 5.56 can????
-
I wonder if they would be satisfactory faraday cages with that rubber gasket on top???
-
What I do is bond the top to the box with a wire across the hinge. Then wrap whatever I put in there in foil. Belt & Suspenders :P
-
Don, show us a picture of the antenna connection on the radio. You may have better results with a different antenna for HF reception.
As for faraday cages, the metal needs to touch on all sides. Connection at the hinge leaves a huge gap for EMP around the rest of the perimeter. The opening on any side (mesh or gap) must be smaller than the wavelength (and some say 1/10th of the wavelength) of the frequency of the energy. Most of the energy in a nuclear EMP is fairly long, but that gap around the rim of the can would be way too big for your intended use.
In addition to making sure you have metallic contact all around the rim, you can take it a step further and ground the containers to give the excess charge someplace to dissipate. A copper ground rod driven into the earth and a wire and clip connected to each container would be ideal.
-
Good info
So, is a galvanized steel trash can a satisfactory faraday cage?
-
Good point about the gap around an ammo can lid... that's why I wrapped my radio in several layers of foil. And good point on using an earth ground.
Also got me thinking about what I'd do if I had a spare ham radio & ancillary equipment to store until needed. Hmmm, how big would it need to be, at least galvanized trash can size for sure. But on the earth grounding if you welded a can shut you'd need to at least spray the weld with some cold galvanize to keep it from rusting in the place I have available for storage.
So what would be the idea faraday storage locker? I can't think of anything without a rubber gasket that would be hermitically sealed unless you welded it shut. So some sort of metal box inside a Pelican case for moisture protection with a copper or stainless bolt run through for grounding...???
-
Don, I think a galvanized can would be sufficient. No real gaps.
Depending on who you read, the strength of the pulse may be over rated. A foil lined closet with a complete wrap of the walls, floors and door would also be sufficient for a place to store spare car electronics, radios, etc.
-
Don, I think a galvanized can would be sufficient. No real gaps.
Depending on who you read, the strength of the pulse may be over rated. A foil lined closet with a complete wrap of the walls, floors and door would also be sufficient for a place to store spare car electronics, radios, etc.
I suppose it all depends on the solar flare strength, or if it's a nuke, then size and range
I want to say planning around a surge of 50,000 watts would get most things done